Primary Menu

Month February 2016

This week for the photowalk activity, I decided to be apart of Dorothy McMahon’s group. We walked around CSULB looking at all of the different water displays on campus. I decided to be part of this group because I found it fitting to look at the water sites since our school’s slogan is related to the beach. I found it appropriate to take a look on how water is incorporated on to the university due to the close proximity to the beach. We began on upper campus and slowly worked our way down to lower campus and ended up at the Japanese Garden. When we began, I was kind of disappointing because the first things we encountered was an empty water fountain. After that; however, all of the other sites had water on display with the exception of course of the energy water system that we have here on campus. Although the water was not visible you still knew there was water inside because you could hear it. On our walk I also decided to capture drinking fountains because I felt that they also play a component on how water is present on campus. I decided to take close and far shots of the sites because I just wanted to have fun with the assignment.I wanted to capture the beauty of water in my photographs. I really had fun with this assignment because it was something that was not like what we had been doing for the past few weeks. I liked how we got to break from our schedule that we have been following week to week. This assignment also gave me the opportunity to get to see the Japanese Garden for the first time. It was such a beautiful place especially to take pictures.

Info Block:

Artist: Kristi Jensen

Exhibition: FUSE: Join to Form A Single Entity

Media: copper, steel, silver, fire, saw, hammer

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Max L. Gatov Gallery East

Website: She has no website

Instagram: whipperton

About the Artist:

Amongst the many artist that made up the gallery one of the artist that captivated my attention was Kristi Jensen because she spoke with such a passion about her work. Kristi Jensen is an undergraduate student in the CSULB School Art Metals & Jewelry BFA Program. Jensen started as a Sculpture major but later decided to switch to metal because it is easier to manipulate. She has been working with metal for two years now and loves it. The pieces that she had in the gallery were assignments that she had made for her particular class. She explained that she is known for turning in things on time and complete, which she of course feels delighted by. Jensen tends to use a lot colors on her work specially blues, light greens, and orange tends to work its way in as well. Some fun facts about Jensen are that when she was a little child she moved a lot from place to place and ended up going to ten different Elementary Schools, she was a flight attendant for a few years, and that she has eight tattoos. Other than working with metal, Jensen also loves to cook and drink red wine, spend time with her husband and dogs, and enjoys reading and knitting.

Formal Analysis:

The object that I decided to do my analysis on was not actually something created by Kristi Jensen, but rather by another artist who I was unable to speak with. Since the gallery was a collection of works by different artist it was difficult to distinguish who made what. Regardless, the artwork I chose was a metal and orange glass light fixture. I was drawn to this light fixture not only because it was the very first thing you would see as you went in the door but also because it had an Arabian style. The orange stained glass gave it a feeling that it belonged in a church somewhere and I just love that. The light fixture was six sided and it had a dome on top with a bunch of triangles. The light fixture was simple but yet at the same time very elegant and just plain beautiful.

Content Analysis:

Kristi Jensen’s work does not particularly explore a specific message because she is just very driven by the process and creating her artwork. She just loves to actually be very hands on, on her assignments. She explained how fascinating it was to just try different methods to create her work, for example she explained all of the different ways on how to get different colors on metal with using different pigments sometimes even fire and ammonia. She seemed very free on the things that she creates. She explained that when she gets stuck and doesn’t know what to do, she refers to photo clippings from magazines that she had saved and gets inspired by the things she sees.

Synthesis/ My Experience:

I really enjoyed this gallery and getting to see the different works of art created by different students. I wish however that the artist who made the light fixture I really loved would have been there to have interviewed him. The gallery definitely had a lot of different artwork to see, ranging from jewelry to light fixtures, to even a chair that seemed to have been made out of rust. The fact that it was only one gallery open was a little disappointing because it was very crowded at points and often times I ended up finding myself having to go outside to get some fresh air. Overall, this was a great experience.

I had meet Gabriela Gonzalez since last week when I saw her walking around Samuel Jernigan’s gallery. This week I decided to ask her if I could interview her for the classmate conversation and she very kindly said “yes”. Gabriela Gonzalez currently a nineteen year old Sophomore who is undeclared. She did mention, however, that she is interested in pursuing a degree in Sociology or Psychology because she would like to become a counselor some day. Gabriela attended Jordan High School in North Long Beach and applied to a couple colleges and universities but ultimately ended up choosing CSULB because she wanted to stay near her family. Gabriela’s favorite color is black and her favorite type of food is Mexican. She explained that when it comes to food she just sticks to the comfort foods that she knows she already likes. But when I asked her if she would be willing to try a different type of food, she said she would be willing to try Italian food. On her free time she either likes to sleep, eat, or watch Netflix. Gabriela also likes to play volleyball and listen to all types of music with the exception of country music. She especially enjoys listening to Bruno Mars and Nirvana. When I asked her “what is something that people might think of you at first glance ?,” she responded that she thinks people get the wrong impression of her and that they immediately think that she is intimidating. She also described herself as “very anti-social,” which was definitely not the case because we talked for a really long time and it was very interesting listening to her. For me at first glance she seemed kind of shy but as I approached her and continued talking she opened up more and became much more comfortable. It was an absolute pleasure speaking with her and getting to know her better.

For the art experience this week I decided to do it on food. I love food but the dish I decided to do it on which is Sushi, I have never tried eating. I personally eat very little fish and very rarely. When I do eat fish it is cooked not raw like in Sushi. I decided to do an inedible type of sushi which goes well with my personality. I wanted my work to show the great damage the ocean is under because of all the plastic pollution. I made sure to replace anything in my sushi roll that would come from the ocean. The seaweed was replaced with a tan plastic bag and the inside was replaced with pieces of white and blue plastic bags. The only thing edible is the steamed rice. My hope is to inspire people to stop harming the ocean if they would like to continue enjoying the wonderful things it provides. This activity was a little challenging because when I was rolling the sushi the rice kept on coming out. Over all I really enjoyed doing this weeks assignment and I hope others do too.

Info Block:

Artist: Samuel Jernigan

Exhibition: Weigh of Whimsy and Ideals

Media: ceramics, spray paint,wood, steel

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Max L. Gatov Gallery West

Website: cargocollective.com/samueljernigan

Instagram: samueljenri

About the Artist:

Samuel Jernigan is an undergraduate student in the CSULB School of Art Ceramics program. Jernigan’s interests other than creating sculptures include watching cartoons, reading comics, and playing the guitar. Jernigan has loved music since a very young age and thought himself to play the guitar at age ten. He stated that his musician background definitely carries onto the artwork he creates. Jernigan describes his artwork as “ a bunch of giant toys” which is really appropriate because it is very whimsical. Three facts about Samuel Jernigan are that he lived in his car for three years, worked for a farmers market, and has a fascination with pens that write well.

Formal Analysis:

The sculpture that I decided to do my observation on was an orange fish. The fish is made from ceramic and is spray painted orange-red. One of its eyes is spray painted white and the other yellow. There are also some small hints of gray spray paint throughout the entire body. The spray paint used by the artist is Montana brand spray paint because it is top of the line spray paint imported from Germany. The fish sculpture captivated my attention from the very beginning because it looked a lot like a character that can be found on a Doctor Seuss’s story.

Content Analysis:

The theme that the sculptures explore are belonging, alienation, and contradictions. Jernigan explained that he created his bust’s and different heads so that they can go into one another to show that people can decide what they want to be. He also mentioned that his artwork is very Victorian inspired because he likes to bring in a classical aspect to his artwork and contradicting it by bringing in a funny aspect.

Synthesis/ My Experience:

Samuel Jernigan’s gallery was very enjoyable and fun to walk around in. Stepping into the gallery immediately transported me onto a “Toy Story” world where I myself was the same size as the toys. The colorful sculpturers were brought to life with all the vibrant colors that Jernigan utilized.The sculptures looked very much alive with their welcoming faces and smiles. I really liked this gallery because it brought out the child in me and made me curious. I also liked the fact that Jernigan used a Victorian aspect on some of his sculptures because I am fascinated with the Victorian period. He was able to create something completely new but at the same time he brought in a classical aspect to his work.

Andrew Andrade is a nineteen year old Sophomore pursuing a degree in Political Science. He would like to later continue his education and get into law school to become a lawyer. Andrew attended Millikan High School prior to choosing CSULB as his university of choice to obtain his degree. He ultimately ended up choosing CSULB due to its proximity to his home and for economical reasons. In past semesters, Andrew was involved in the breakdance club but is no longer doing it because it takes to much of his time. He works at Journeys Shoes Store and in his spare time he enjoys watching t.v. and hanging out with friends. Andrew’s’ favorite types of food are Mexican, Japanese, and Korean. Among all of the sports that Andrew likes to play, some of which include martial arts, cross country,football, and basketball, wrestling is his favorite. It was a pleasure to speak with him and I definitely think other students in the class should get to know him as well.

Sadly I was not able to go to Venice Beach to do my graffiti writing, but I was able however, to to do it here at the beach in Long Beach. I ended up buying a piece of black poster paper and created it there. I also bought red and gold spray paint to to create my graffiti art. I ended choosing those two colors for my artwork because they are two of my favorite colors. I ended up creating my initials with both of the spray paints although originally I had planned out to have my whole name written on, buy since the paper was too small my whole name did not fit. Since I did not want to just end up wasting the black piece of paper I also ended up writing something in the back side. I ended up writing God is Good. Often times when I see graffiti a displeasure is expressed but I wanted to do the opposite. This activity was fun but I definitely think that if I would have done it on a wall it would have made the experience better.

This snapchat activity was really fun because it allowed me to be creative with what I wanted to draw or add to my picture. Normally I do not tend to draw on the pictures I take I just put captions on them to let people know what I am doing. Since a lot of my friends are in deferent colleges and universities around the United States I like to keep in touch letting them know what I am up to and I enjoy seeing what they are doing. In a way it allows us to be close although we are so far away. Social media has really allowed us to keep in communication with out really having to call each other and in some way being part of the experience of others. It makes it seem that you have friends and family right there in that moment.

Info Block:

Artist: Josh Vasquez

Exhibition: Vida/ Morte

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Max L. Gatov Gallery West

Website: joshvasquez.com

Instagram: Joshybehr

About the Artist:

Josh Vasquez is a first generation Salvadorian American who lives in downtown Los Angeles. He is an undergraduate student in the CSULB School of Art’s Painting and Drawing Program. His parents are very proud and supportive of their son being an artist. Vasquez considers himself a “starving artist” because most of his money goes into creating his master pieces. Other than creating art work, Vasquez’s interests also include photography, sleeping and eating foods such as hamburgers and the traditional Salvadorian dish, pupusas. Vasquez’s work does not have a specific objective, but he decided to focus on life and death simply because they are two really different subjects.

Formal Analysis:

The artwork I decided to observe is a canvas created with reusable plastic bags and markers. The artwork depicts a human skull inside a flower. The color scheme is very simple because there is only black and white. The lines are very smooth which gives it a nice peaceful tone to the whole piece. The shading on the artwork varies from light to much darker in certain regions. At first glance a viewer might not see something on the canvas but after observing it very well, you can clearly see the skull in the flower.

Content Analysis:

This piece of art represents the theme of life and death. This is represented through the image of the skull and the flower and through the use of the colors black and white. Vasquez also utilized discarded flowers of different colors which definitely gives a new life to them. He stated that the purpose of utilizing the flowers was to give life to the unwanted things in his artwork. He seems to be the kind of artist who likes taking challenges and creating his own view on a certain topic that has been done before by other artist.

Synthesis/My Experience:

I really enjoyed Josh Vasquez’s art gallery about life and death. He managed to incorporate a new style to what I consider to be a very traditional theme. I like the fact that he did not just focus on humans but also on animals. He created a canvas with an animal skull similar to the one with the human skull inside a flower. His incorporation of the discarded flowers was genius because the flowers were very colorful which represents life. And the fact that they are wilting represents death.

This activity was really fun but very messy. I was not expecting to get dirty doing this activity but mixing the plaster splattered on my clothes. Luckily, the plaster washed off my clothes. I ended up doing my cast on my own on Saturday with the help of my brother. The activity would have been practically impossible without the help of someone else, so I was glad to have him there helping me. The activity gave me the opportunity to get some homework done as I waited for it to dry. I have never done a plaster casting before in my life but I found this to be very cool specially because I would have never thought of using the sand to create a mold for the plaster. I think the plaster casting of my hand turned out very well, with the exception of curse, of some missing parts.